Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1887-04-14
Correspondence Of the Beacon.)
MEDLEy's NECK. April T.. IL

Dear Beacon Until within the past few
days | was rather skeptical in regard 10 the
existence Of the wonderful animal which
was said TO have been seen at various times
in the neighbOrhood of Milestown bv seve-
raj Of your correspondents, and thought the
description was either the result Of disor-
dered mind or OverdTawn bv those who
from fear or perhaps excitement imagined
the animal Ia be more fcrocius than il
really was, but to nv SORROW be il sail |
have learned from sad experience. which
will now relate. that il was capable Of do
ing even more than was claimed for II. On
Monday last, whilst riding through my
woods, ! noticed that the bark had been
completely stripped from several large trees
for a distance Of five or six fee; from the
ground. Upon examination. | discovered
that circle hal been trampl,d around
each tree, rs if some animal had been walk
ing on its hind feet and gnawinE the bark
off rs far as il could reach. There were
also marks Of the front feet on the body Of
each tree continued my ride -hurt dis
lance, thinking of the strange appearance
of the trees, when was startled by seeing
tht head and shoulders ola Bcrk Shire hog
from which the other portions of the body
had been recently cut was about IL dis
W
makes my blood run cold ~ think OF i'll
heard IA smothcrCd growl overhead. Upon
looking up. saw the hind quarters Of the
hog falling down the tree, and AZ the same
moment bchrld the most fcroCiuUs looking
beast imaginable perchcd in the fork If the
tree about twenty feet above mo. | tried
Ia urge my horse ON, as saw The animal
was about to spring, hut the horS, stood IL
if rooted To- the ground. and refused Ia
bulge an inch. Perhaps YOU may think |
was not frightened, hUt If 50 You are mis-
taken. tried 30 pray, hut was too scared;
hut YOU may depend upon il did a pow
ertul piece of thinking, and soon came 10
thr conclusion that there was n time e.
lose il | expected to save myself. instant
" freed my feet from the stirrupS, and was
in the act Of jumping from NV horse. when
| heard "A rtport az II from a ilfc. and at the
same moment felt stunning blow, which
knocked me Ia the ground. When | re-
gained consciousness found that my
shoulder was diSlocated ana my arm bro
ken | started toward the houS,. rs soon a.
was able to move, and upon nearing the
stable saw several of the farm hands who
seemingly were very much excited. judg
iug from their loud voices and geSticula-
tons. When they saw me they called out,
"fOr DC Lord sake, boss, come here, f. sure
n YOU am born heah am dc debil " Al
though suffering very much from my
wounds, | was compelled 10 20 by the sta
ble "a send for doctor. and when reached
il the first thing that greeted my sight was
the dreaded Whatshallicallit, which | was
satisfied from the description heretofore
published was the very beast that had ter
rpriz,d the good people in the reighbor-
4, g ;l.st,N.-p = i,,,s,,s-i1 .,
g. say what il is. not having seen anything
Ike i, before IL seems t. Ice hybrid.
having the appearance somewhat Of an
HEX as 10 the head and feet whilst the
body is more like that Of q Panther; the
tail. however, is like a duuble-cdScd sword,
which accounts for the manner in which
Mr.. Raley's dog was killei, and also the
death Of my hog. The beast weighs about
THREE hundred pounds, and is covered with
long son hair. There Is projection on the
head something like that uf the ChamoiSl
from which the horns grow. Both horns,
however, are now broken otf. The eyes
an as biz rs teacupS and bulge cut. The
mouth is quite large and has double TOW
Of teeth. which are very long and sharp,
and should judge the animal could easily
swallow halt. grown lamb. It's supposed
"a have escaped from some managerie on
boat passing up or down the river FortU
natelv the horse was not seriously injured.
When first seen by the hands he was run
ming =! rapid rate, with the animal hang
ing across the saddle and holding on with
his teeth, although il VAS then in its death
struggle. Upon examination ! found !t-o
ilsS R as SAFE ,Fb,Ut tie ~, II Il half deLIr.
These | could not account for n first. |
ordered the hands IL take the skin of very
carefully, aS propose u stuff il and send
il mp a. Your Office 10 b. exhibited for few
days before sending il n the Washington
Museum. l will endesvor 20 get il up %
you by Saturday.
.Noir cBBiss tks sirdRgcst part
Upon opening the hody. among other
things pair oi REVIEWERS were found. A,tA
# xsSna FsrS marked ''Coiiingham." This
accouRtS for the mysterious disappearance
of that individual The slpp0siti6n 10 that
Cottiugham was attacked and killed before
he could Vie {t) with him. MAY the Lord
have mercy ca him. Now follows SINE
thing mOre that i remarkable Upon ex-
animation the chambers Of both revolvers
were discovered a. haye-+aen recently dis
CHARGED. which accounts for the holes in the
animals side, and also for his death. Ny
theory Is that the explosion was the result
of the conclusion caused by the jump from
the tree. ar possibly il was due % animal
heat. VIII some philosopher explain!
. Respectfully yours,
BreVcer JasHkaa.